| 释义 |
▪ I. dull, a.|dʌl|
Forms: 3–6 dul, 4–6 dulle, (5 dol(e), 6 Sc. doll, 4– dull. See also dill a.
[ME. dul, dull, found once in 13th c., but not usual bef. 1350; beside which dil, dill, dylle, is found in same sense 1200–1440. The two appear to point to an OE. *dyl, *dylle:— *duljo-, a parallel form to OE. dol foolish (:— *dulo-) = OS. and Du. dol, OHG. tol (Ger. toll), from the Germanic dul-, ablaut-form of dwel- to be foolish.]
1. Not quick in intelligence or mental perception; slow of understanding; not sharp of wit; obtuse, stupid, inapprehensive. In early use, sometimes: Wanting wit, fatuous, foolish.
[c940Seafarer 106 Dol biþ se ðe him his Dryhten ne ondrædeþ. c975Rushw. Gosp. Matt. v. 22 Seðe þanne cwæþe dysiᵹ vel dole [Vulg. fatue; Ags. G. þu stunta] he biþ scyldiᵹ helle fyres. ]a1000Riddles xii. 3 Ic..dole hwette. a1250Leg. Kath. 1268 Wacre þen eni wake! of deað & of dul [earlier MSS. dult] wit! c1340Hampole Prose Tr. (1866) 40 If thi herte be dulle and myrke and felis noþer witt ne sauour ne deuocyone for to thynke. 1362Langl. P. Pl. A. i. 129 ‘Þou dotest daffe’ quaþ heo ‘Dulle are þi wittes’. 1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xviii. i. (1495) 735 The oxe is slowe and stable and the asse dull of wytte. 1413Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton 1483) iv. xxiv. 70 She fond the soo dulle and soo lothe to hir wordes. 1494Fabyan Chron. 2 To my dull wytte it is nat atteynaunt. 1576Fleming Panopl. Epist. 269 The blunt and dull capacities of them that give judgement. 1651Hobbes Leviath. ii. xxv. 135 Feare of appearing duller in apprehension. 1690Locke Hum. Und. ii. i. (1695) 44, I confess myself to have one of those dull Souls, that doth not perceive it self always to contemplate Ideas. 1751Jortin Serm. (1771) VI. ii. 32 The Israelites were a dull and a carnal people. 1833H. Martineau Briery Creek i. 8 He was rather a dull child—usually called uncommonly stupid.
2. a. Wanting sensibility or keenness of perception in the bodily senses and feelings; insensible, obtuse, senseless, inanimate. In dialect use, esp. Hard of hearing, deaf.
c1340Cursor M. 3564 (Trin.) His body waxeþ drye & dulle [Gött. dall; not in Cott. or Fairf.]. 1500–20Dunbar Poems xv. 9 And he that dronis ay as ane bee Sowld haif ane heirar dull as stane. 1526–34Tindale Matt. xiii. 15 Their eares were dull of herynge. 1590Spenser F.Q. i. x. 18 She..opened his dull eyes, that light mote in them shine. 1613Shakes. Hen. VIII, iii. ii. 434 And when I am forgotten..And sleepe in dull cold Marble. a1791Grose Olio (1796) 115 By dull I only mean hard of hearing. 1830Tennyson Poet's Mind 35 You never would hear it; your ears are so dull. 1878J. P. Hopps Jesus iv. 18 The light came again into the poor dull eyes.
b. Of pain or other sensation: Not keen or intense; slightly or indistinctly felt.
1725N. Robinson Th. Physick 165 A heavy, dull Pain generally affects the Patient, either on the Right or Left Side. Mod. A sharp pain, followed by a dull ache.
3. a. Slow in motion or action; not brisk; inert, sluggish, inactive; heavy, drowsy.
1393Gower Conf. III. 6 My limmes ben so dull, I may unethes gon the pas. 1530Palsgr. 311/1 Dull at the spurre as a horse is, restif. 1590Spenser F.Q. i. vii. 5 Thenceforth her waters wexed dull and slow. 1625J. Glanvill Voy. Cadiz (1883) 56, I gott a dull and ill paced horse. 1699W. Dampier Voy. II. ii. 20 Our Ketch, even when light, was but a dull Sailer. 1788Franklin Autobiog. Wks. 1840 I. 222 When we came to sea she proved the dullest of ninety-six sail. 1849E. E. Napier Excurs. S. Africa II. 9 The long whips could not urge the dull, lean teams into a quicker pace. 1869Hazlitt Eng. Prov. 49 All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
b. Of trade: Sluggish, stagnant; the opposite of brisk. Hence transf. of goods or merchandise: Not much in demand, not easily saleable.
1705W. Bosman Guinea 73 Trade being extremely dull at that time. 1729Franklin Ess. Wks. 1840 II. 275 If raising wheat proves dull, more may proceed to the raising and manufacturing of hemp, silk, iron. 1797T. Jefferson Writ. (1859) IV. 182 Flour is dull at $7·50. 1863Fawcett Pol. Econ. i. iv. 43 Dull trade is always prejudicial to them. 1892E. Reeves Homewd. Bound 205 This being the dull season, we arranged terms at about half price. 1895Times 17 Jan. 4/1 In the Market..Consols opened dull at 104½.
4. Of persons, or their mood: Having the natural vivacity or cheerfulness blunted; having the spirits somewhat depressed; listless; in a state approaching gloom, melancholy, or sadness: the opposite of lively or cheerful.
c1393Chaucer Scogan 45 Scogan þat knelist at þe wellis hed Of grace of alle honour and worþynesse In þe ende of wich strem I am dul as ded. c1475Lerne or be Lewde in Babees Bk. (1868) 9 To Dulle, ne to Dredefulle, ne Drynke nat to offte. 1590Shakes. Com. Err. v. i. 79 Sweet recreation barr'd, what doth ensue But moodie and dull melancholly? 1709Steele Tatler No. 45 ⁋7 You are dull to Night; prithee be merry. 1840Dickens Barn. Rudge vii, When other people were merry, Mrs. Varden was dull. 1877Spurgeon Serm. XXIII. 103 They say they are ‘dull’ if they have to be quiet for a while.
5. Causing depression or ennui; tedious, uninteresting, uneventful; the reverse of exhilarating or enlivening.
1590Shakes. Com. Err. ii. i. 91 Are my discourses dull? Barren my wit? 1693Hum. & Conv. Town 63 Some admirable Passage in the last dull Prologue. 1716Lady M. W. Montagu Let. to Mrs. Thistlethwayte 26 Sept., I have already said too much on so dull a subject. 1798Duke of Clarence 1 June in Nicolas Nelson's Disp. III. 10 note, I trust the Campaign..will be less dull than you imagine. 1838Lytton Alice 23 Good curates generally are dull. 1892Bookseller 18/2 There is no fear of Sunday being a dull day for the little ones.
6. Not sharp or keen; blunt (in lit. sense).
[c1400Destr. Troy 10548 Parys cast at the kyng..þre darttes noght dole.] c1440Promp. Parv. 135/1 Dulle of egge, obtusus. 1594Shakes. Rich. III, iv. iv. 226 No doubt the murd'rous knife was dull and blunt, Till it was whetted on thy stone-hard heart. 1633G. Herbert Temple, Time i, Meeting with Time, Slack thing, said I, Thy sithe is dull; whet it for shame. 1719De Foe Crusoe i. v, I had three large axes..but with much chopping and cutting..they were all full of notches, and dull. 1835Whittier Mogg Megone ii. iv, Time..Wielding the dull axe of Decay.
7. a. Of or in reference to physical qualities, as colour or luminosity, sound, taste: Not clear, bright, vivid, or intense; obscure, dim; indistinct, muffled; flat, insipid. b. Of the weather: Not clear or bright; cheerless, gloomy, overcast. (Here there is app. some mixture of sense 5.)
c1430Lydg. Min. Poems 151 (Mätz.) Al is dul shadwe, whan Phebus is doun goon. 1552Huloet, Dulle or sadde coloure, rauus [printed raucus] color. 1599Shakes. Hen. V, iii. v. 16 Is not their Clymate foggy, raw, and dull? 1611― Cymb. ii. iv. 41 Sparkles this Stone as it was wont, or is't not Too dull for your good wearing? 1694Acc. Sev. Late Voy. ii. (1711) 4 On the 19th we had a dull Sun-shine. 1699W. Dampier Voy. II. ii. 66 Of a dull grey. 1816J. Smith Panorama Sc. & Art II. 826 The alloys of platina with silver give only a dull metal. 1836Dubourg Violin i. (1878) 11 In character of sound, the viol instruments were decidedly sweet, but comparatively dull. 1860Tyndall Glac. i. xxvii. 195 The dawn was dull, but the sky cleared as the day advanced.
8. Comb., as dull-disposed, dull-looking, dull-making, dull-smelling adjs.; parasynthetic, as dull-brained, dull-browed, dull-coloured, † dull-conceited, dull-edged, dull-eyed, dull-featured, dull-hearted, dull-scented, dull-sighted, dull-spirited, dull-surfaced, dull-voiced adjs.; also dull emitter, a thermionic valve in which the filament operates at a relatively low temperature, and so does not glow brightly; also, such a filament; also attrib.; hence dull-emitting adj.; † dull-house [transl. Du. dolhuis, in Kilian dulhuys], a mad-house. See also dull-head, -headed, etc.
1594Shakes. Rich. III, iv. iv. 332 *Dull-brain'd Buckingham.
1644Quarles Barnabas & B., Sensual Man (T.), A pitch beyond the reach of *dull-browed sorrow.
a1592H. Smith Wks. (1867) II. 369 They cannot be so sottish or *dull conceited.
1599B. Jonson Cynthia's Rev. iv. i, The most melancholick and *dull-disposed creature upon earth.
a1631Drayton Wks. III. 1176 (Jod.) *Dull-edg'd tools.
1922Wireless World 30 Sept. 858/2 The set has been designed that either R or ‘*Dull Emitter’ valves can be fitted, the latter permitting of the operation of the set from dry cells. 1923Ibid. 5 May 137/2 The dull-emitting filaments of the valves are made from thoriated tungsten and..if thoriated tungsten had not proved useful in electric lamp manufacture, there would not exist to-day the ‘dull-emitter’ valve. 1923Exper. Wireless Nov. 97/2 The object of the dull emitter is to obtain the same filament emission with only a fraction of the energy previously required to render the ordinary filament sufficiently incandescent. 1970D. F. Shaw Introd. Electronics (ed. 2) x. 209 Oxide-coated cathodes..glow a dull red and they are therefore called dull emitters, contrasted with tungsten filaments which are bright emitters.
1596Shakes. Merch. V. iii. iii. 14 Ile not be made a soft and *dull ey'd foole. 1870Morris Earthly Par. II. iii. 121 This helped him through his dull-eyed woe.
1622T. Scott Belg. Pismire 79 Their Bedlams and *Dul-houses for distracted people.
1581Sidney Apol. Poetrie (Arb.) 72 If..you be borne so neere the *dull making Cataphract of Nilus, that you cannot heare the Plannet-like Musick of Poetrie.
1552Huloet, *Dulle sighted or poreblinde, rauos oculos habens. 1686Lond. Gaz. No. 2188/4 A light Gray Gelding..dull Sighted, especially in the right Eye.
1616–61B. Holyday Persius (1673) 335 Whether he buy *dull-smelling cinnamun.
1597Hooker Eccl. Pol. v. xxx. §4 To play vpon *dull-spirited men.
▪ II. dull, v.|dʌl|
Also 4 doulle.
[f. dull a.]
I. trans. To make dull, in various senses.
1. To render sluggish or inert; to deprive of quickness, sharpness, or activity; to stupefy (a person, or the mind, understanding, wits, etc.).
c1392Chaucer Compl. Venus 76 Ffor eelde þat in my spiryt doulleþe me. c1440Promp. Parv. 135/1 Dullyn, or make dulle in wytte, hebeto. 1571Golding Calvin on Ps. xxxix. 8 They wilfully dull themselves, that they may sleepe soundly in their owne vanitie. 1604Shakes. Oth. ii. iii. 394 Dull not Deuice, by coldnesse, and delay. 1625Bacon Ess., Usury (Arb.) 543 Vsury..doth Dull and Dampe all Industries..wherin Money would be Stirring, if it were not for this Slugge. 1678R. Barclay Apol. Quakers v. §21. 165 Man is dull'd by an evil habit. 1877E. R. Conder Bas. Faith ii. 89 Without dulling their responsiveness to each new impression.
†b. To pass away in sloth or inactivity. Obs.
1682Sir T. Browne Chr. Mor. i. §33 Dull not away thy days in slothful supinity.
†2. To render dull of mood; to make listless, or somewhat gloomy: the opposite of to enliven. Obs.
c1386Chaucer Can. Yeom. Prol. & T. 540 Of his falshede it dulleth me to ryme. c1400Destr. Troy 11314 Youre dedis me dullis, & dos out of hope. 1576Fleming Panopl. Epist. 64 My desire is not to dull you, if I can not delight you. c1600Shakes. Sonn. cii, I would not dull you with my song. a1611Beaum. & Fl. Philaster iii. i, The nobles and the people are all dulled With this usurping king.
3. To render less sensitive; to take away the keenness of, blunt (the bodily senses or organs).
1552Huloet, Dulle or darken with ouer muche lyght, perstringo. 1578Lyte Dodoens iv. xxx. 488 If one eate to muche thereof, it dulleth the sight. 1633Bp. Hall Hard Texts 292 Their ears shall be dulled and deafened. 1812J. Wilson Isle of Palms ii. 161 Each sense is dull'd! a1822Shelley M.N. Post. Fr. 16 For passion's voice had dull'd their listless ear.
b. To render (feeling) less keen or intense.
1651Hobbes Govt. & Soc. i. §2. 4 That the Appetite, of present matters, be dul'd with the memory of things past. 1832Tennyson To J. S. 40 Weep, weeping dulls the inward pain.
4. To take off the sharpness of, to blunt (an edge or point, or something edged or pointed). Often fig. in phr. to dull the edge of = 3 b.
c1400Destr. Troy 5131 Þen Vlixes..The derfe wordis of Diamede dullit with speche. c1440Promp. Parv. 135/1 Dullyn, or make dulle in egge toole, obtundo. 1591Sylvester Du Bartas i. i. 128 My Reason's edge is dull'd in this Dispute. 1607Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 359 Leopards..and Lions, do hide their clawes within their skin when they go or run, that so they might not be dulled. a1716South Serm. IV. ii. (R.), How quickly the edge of their valour was dulled. 1821B. Cornwall Mirandola ii. ii, Your sword is dulled With carnage, I am told.
5. To take away the brightness, clearness, vividness, or intensity of; to make dim or indistinct; to tarnish. Also fig.
c1386Chaucer Pars. T. ⁋159 Þe goode werkes þat he dede..ben amortised and astoneyed and dullid by ofte synnynge. c1425Wyntoun Cron. ii. x. 24 Swa suld I dulle hale yhoure Delyte. 1596Spenser F.Q. vi. iii. 13 In which they [the sun's beams] steeped lay All night in darkenesse, duld with yron rust. 1630Davenant Cruel Bro. iii. Dram. Wks. 1872 I. 157 Foreste is the man That dulls your reputation with the Duke. 1870Morris Earthly Par. III. iv. 185 The swift footfalls Were dulled upon the marble floor By silken webs from some far shore. 1872Black Adv. Phaeton xvii. 237 A sort of mist..dulling the rich colours of the glen. 1892Westcott Gospel of Life 220 The image of God in man if dulled has not been destroyed.
II. intr. To become dull, in various senses.
6. To become stupid, inert, blunt, dim, etc.; to lose force, intensity, keenness, or clearness.
c1374Chaucer Boeth. i. metr. ii. 3 (Camb. MS.) Allas how the thowt of man dreynt in ouerthrowynge depnesse dulleþ and forletiþ his propre cleernesse. c1450Cov. Myst. (Shaks. Soc.) 343 Myn heed dullyth, Myn herte ffullyth Of sslepp. 1509Fisher Fun. Serm. C'tess Richmond Wks. (1876) 305 Her herynge sholde haue dulled. 1591Sylvester Du Bartas i. vi. 230 A pregnant Wit; Which rusts and duls, except it subject finde Worthy it's worth, whereon itself to grinde. 1633T. James Voy. 22 The winde duld something. 1862G. P. Scrope Volcanos 35 The lava was visible at a white heat, gradually dulling to a faint red. 1871Black Dau. Heth III. ii. 24 The day had dulled somewhat.
†b. To be inactive or sluggish; to drowse. Obs.
1430Lydg. Chron. Troy ii. xx, My counsayle is our ankers up to pulle In this matter no longer that we dulle. c1440Jacob's Well (E.E.T.S.) 281 Þat þou schalt noȝt dullyn and slawthyn in þi labour of þi prayers.
†7. To become dull, listless, or somewhat gloomy; to grow weary, tire (of something). Obs.
[c1220Bestiary 383 in O. Eng. Misc. 12 Ðus is ure louerdes laȝe, luuelike to fillen, her-of haue we mikel ned, ðat we ðar-wið ne dillen.] c1374Chaucer Troylus iv. 1461 (1489) That ye shul dullen of þe rudenesse Of vs sely Troians. c1440Gesta Rom. xx. 68 (Harl. MS.) He dradde moche of the forseid word, and gretly dullid therwith.
†8. To be tedious; to urge tediously. Obs.
1540R. Hyrde tr. Vives' Instr. Chr. Wom. (1592) P vij, Many women..with their ungodly crying and unreasonable calling, craving, and dulling upon them, driveth them to seeke unlawfull meanes of living. |